If abortion is like slavery—indeed, if abortion is the most divisive issue since slavery—then what of the women who suffered under slavery? What of the women who performed self-abortions in order to resist slavery? They cease to exist.

With a potentially tough Republican primary ahead of him, Sen. Lindsey Graham took the lead on a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks post-fertilization—after Sen. Marco Rubio turned down the opportunity.

The decision stays an Iowa Board of Medicine rule that threatened to end access to medication abortion for rural patients. The decision will allow Planned Parenthood to continue offering medication abortions at 15 rural clinics while the court challenge proceeds.

The assault had been years, even decades, in the making. But three years ago, a Supreme Court case, the U.S. Census, and anti-Obama backlash set the course for the arsonists who trained their flame-throwers on women’s fundamental freedoms.

How did the Republicans get themselves into this shutdown mess? Part of the problem is they are remarkably out of touch, and you can look no further than Republican discourse on contraception to see how bad it’s gotten in the right-wing bubble.